Why do we find it hard to focus during the day after a poor night’s sleep? Why do we get irritable when lunch is late?
Ayurveda says it is because we have gone against our natural rhythms. When we ignore our natural rhythms, which include the rhythms of the seasons, our digestive rhythm, day and night, we experience symptoms of mental/physical/emotional imbalances.
Spring is Vata time. It is the transition between the cold of Winter and the heat of Summer. When one day is hot and the next day is cold, the body has to continually adjust. Those adjustments, movements, that insecurity and instability, represents Vata and affects the nervous system. In Spring the Vata imbalance can show up as allergies, asthma, colds and flus, aches and pains.
To nourish the body in Spring, take care of Vata. The best foods to stay balanced in Spring are warm, cooked foods in season, avoiding summer foods like zucchini or tomatoes, fruits or melons. Focus on lentils and kitcheree, rice, winter vegetables like yams and broccoli. If we eat summer foods in Spring, it will cool the body down too much (and summer vegetables are generally not ripe until June/July. Since we need a “hot” digestive fire (microbiome) to digest fats and heavy foods, we may put on weight or feel depressed if we eat heavy foods. Depression frequently comes when we eat foods that are too heavy for our digestive fire (they put the fire out. In Winter the absence of sunlight can also depress our agni and Pitta and cause depression. Eat foods that are heating in winter, cooling in Summer, and balanced and anti-Vata in Spring and Fall. You can’t lose eating kitcheree year round!
What is your daily scheduole? Ayurveda suggests we be asleep by 10 pm get up at 6am or earlier, do morning meditation and exercise, eat a warm, cooked breakfast, have the heaviest meal at noon, eat a light last meal before 6 pm, and eat at regular intervals foods that are local, organic, cooked and in season.
If we are awake past 10pm we will not get the best night’s sleep as 10-2am is Pitta time, when the body is restoring the heart, small intestines, liver, gall bladder. If we get too little sleep, the nervous system gets out of its natural rhythm and our brain may be sluggish. If we delay eating, the microbiome/acidic digestive juices that have left the small intestings and stomach and moved into the bloodstream may cause our hot hormones to rise, making us irritable.
Find out more about your daily rhythms in Know Your Blueprint: The Ayurvedic Secret to Restoring Vitality in 30 Days.
